Down from the Hills: Bluegrass show, championship this weekend

NEW ALBANY – Pickers and players are welcome to show off their skills at the Down from the Hills Heritage Music Festival this weekend.
The festival celebrates bluegrass, and includes a performance by the band Magnolia Drive and is home to the State of Mississippi Bluegrass Music Championship.
“This is a part of the history of our region,” said Jill Smith, director of the Union County Heritage Museum and an event organizer. “We’re keeping it alive.”
Bluegrass bands can enter, and there are individual adult and youth categories in fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin and dobro.
“We have a lot of amazing young musicians,” Smith said.
More than $8,000 in cash prizes and trophies will be given away.
It’s the 12th annual Down from the Hills event and fourth state bluegrass championships, and it’s supported by the Mississippi Arts Commission. For more information on the competition and to download registration forms, visit mississippifiddlers.com.
Down from the Hills also includes a pony pull and a quilt show and demonstration by the Union County Piece Makers. The campground has camper hook-ups, too.
Smith said it’s a good time for everyone, from the competitors to the audience.
“You’ll find a lot of shade tree picking, and a lot of jam sessions,” she said. “We’d like the music to continue in our region; that’s why we do this.”

Check It Out
WHAT: Down from the Hills Heritage Music Festival and State of Mississippi Bluegrass Championships